Fifth Sunday of Easter

Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 14, 2006

"... But they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple." (Acts 9:26-31). Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. (I John 3:18-21). Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine so neither can you unless you remain in me." (John 15:1-8)

Paul had undergone a profound change of attitude as a result of his conversion experience. People were having a difficult time accepting that he could speak with the same authority as the original disciples specifically chosen by Jesus. Would he suddenly turn on them again? How could such a recent enemy suddenly assume the same authority as those who had been through it all with Jesus? He could not have done this by himself. Barnabas, a trusted disciple vouches for his authenticity and he is accepted as one of them. Paul is the first of those, like us, who could claim the rights of discipleship without ever having known the historical Jesus. He does this by virtue of a different kind of knowing, entirely mystical, hidden in the Spirit of God. His "credentials" are his transformation from violence and power to weakness and dependence.

Jesus in the gospel passage from John compares our relationship to Himself and his Father with a grapevine. The Most High is the gardener. Jesus is the "vine" rooted in God. We are shoots off of the plant. In some mysterious way we are as interdependent with him as he is with his Father. We all need each other for the whole thing to prosper. Religion in spirit and truth is a corporate reality based on mutual responsibilities of love in word and action. Together we live. Apart we die.

We can understand this metaphor of the vine and branches in another way. Without pruning the grapevine produces lots of greenery but little fruit. We all have personal habits of thinking and acting which no longer serve any real purpose, even if they once did. We might think of our supposedly "bad habits" in this way. To stay healthy and productive some of these shoots must be snipped away even if they have some life in them. This is a painful process. No one likes to deliberately cut away something living. I have been "pruned" of a few formerly very useful abilities, like muscle strength, breath and independence, to make room for new things. From where I am now, I would not care to return to this former way of life as satisfying as it was at the time. The pruning has had the desired effect, a much more lush plant, more dependent on the other vines in the vineyard, and productive for them. We all have similar opportunities to allow the Spirit to be with us as life presents its inevitable invitations for growth. The possibilities are endless.